


the world elsewhere

by sinequanon



Series: tiny bleach [8]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Post-Winter War, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 08:38:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinequanon/pseuds/sinequanon
Summary: Chad has heard a lot of talk over the years about “keeping the balance” between the worlds. Generally, what that means is “more Shinigami, fewer hollows” which makes sense. Right?





	the world elsewhere

**Author's Note:**

> This one was difficult because as much as I like Chad, it was hard writing from his POV. I like the idea though, so I might try it again from a different perspective at some point.
> 
> The UraIchi prompts that helped me finish this one are: Apocalypse & Colors
> 
> (I’ll explain myself in the end notes!)

There is a world elsewhere. --William Shakespeare’s _Coriolanus_

<> <> <> <>

Looking back, Chad thought that the four of them could be forgiven for not realizing sooner. After all, Orihime had been counting on them and war was on the horizon, so they weren't really focusing on the scenery in Hueco Mundo beyond, “wow, that's a lot of sand”.

Fighting the way through Las Noches didn't leave much time for reflection, and when it was over, they were just so exhausted (and thrilled to have their friend back), that they were basically sleepwalking the way back to the human world.

Life went on.

The next few times Chad was in Hueco Mundo, there was a war on, and defeating Aizen was the only thing that mattered. In the middle of battle, when everything around him was reduced to ash and rubble, it was easy to brush off any odd melancholy he might have felt as sadness that they had to fight at all.

When the war finally ended, the Karakura contingent seemed to reach an unspoken consensus that they all just needed to...breathe. Urahara-san agreed to take care of the hollows in Karakura for a while, while the humans focused on normal, teenager things.

They didn’t talk about Soul Society, Shinigami, or Hueco Mundo.

(And then they did.)

Orihime was the one to bring it up, one night while the four of them were laying on the Kurosakis’ roof, watching the stars.

“It wasn’t so bad,” she whispered into the darkness, “over there. Sometimes, when the breeze blew through the tower just right, it was nice; almost...familiar.”

The boys waited for her to find her words.

“Sometimes, it felt like there was something heavy on top of my head, or covering part of my face. I thought it was all the spiritual pressure pushing at me, but…” she trailed off into silence.

“There is something strange about Hueco Mundo,” Chad agreed. Uryuu huffed out a noticeable breath, which for him was as good as screaming his belief that something was odd as well.

They turned to Ichigo, who was still staring at the stars. Then, just as Chad started to think that Ichigo wasn’t going to share his thoughts: “I guess we need to speak with Geta-boushi then.”

<> <>

Chad would never say so out loud, but the quietest member of the Karakura gang very much enjoyed knowing Urahara Kisuke.

The tall boy had paid quite a bit of attention to the scientist--partially because he was so interesting, and partially because Ichigo also watched Urahara closely--so Chad easily caught the way the blonde man’s eyes widened ever-so-slightly when they told him what they wanted.

He recovered quickly, of course, and produced that crazy fan out of nowhere to hide the rest of his expression. “Why, Kurosaki-kun! You have a new project already? Will you be reforming the hollows this time, the way you did for we lowly Shinigami?”

The group exchanged looks, because how could they explain that they _needed_ to go back, to figure out what was missing ** _._** Instead of voicing that crazy thought, though, Ichigo shrugged. “It's just something we need to do.”

Which told the man absolutely nothing. But it would be enough for Urahara, Chad (and everyone who wasn’t Ichigo) knew, because if curiosity wasn’t enough to secure the man’s help, the fact that it was Ichigo asking certainly was.

For better or worse, they were going to Hueco Mundo.

<> <>

Chad’s thought as he _really_ looked out over the sands of Hueco Mundo for the first time was, _What happened to all of the trees?_

He glanced at Ichigo, whose expression had shifted at some point from from Scowl #5: Ready for Trouble, into Scowl #14: I Don’t Know What This Is But I Don’t Like It; to Uryuu, and the telltale wrinkle between his eyebrows; to Orihime’s strangely solemn expression, and asked, “Has this world always been so...tan?”

It hurt, somehow, saying those words. For a moment, his arm throbbed. Something else should dominate the horizon. _Right?_

Chad had the sudden, crazy thought that maybe all the _sand_ was a mirage. Mirages didn't work that way, as far as he knew, but the thought was still strangely comforting.

They should have moved; gone anywhere, done anything. Instead, the four of them watched the horizon, and Urahara watched at them, looking more puzzled (and a touch concerned) by the second.

(Chad sympathized; none of this made sense to him, either.)

When it became obvious that they had no particular plans, Urahara asked whether there was anything they wanted (needed) to tell him.

“It seems wrong,” Orihime offered absentmindedly, her gaze never leaving the horizon. Chad, though, saw the scientist’s frown deepen.

Ichigo took a step forward, slowly, like he was unsure of his footing. The others followed his lead. “So there are no trees?”

“Not unless you count the Menos Forest,” Urahara confirmed, moving with them. “Not that I mind wandering aimlessly through the desert, Kurosaki-kun but I must ask, why are we here?”

They all ignored him. What could they say?

“It should be greener,” Uryuu murmured absently, flexing his hand as he spoke. “Brighter. Not this.”

As soon as the Quincy said it, Chad could picture it: a city, filled with enormous shade trees and colorful buildings and people with bone covering their arms or their heads or some other body part.

Orihime gasped as if she, too, could suddenly see Las Noches as it should have been (as it once was). Ichigo cursed quietly.

“Hey, Geta-boushi? How much trouble do you think we’d get into with the Shinigami if we wanted to make some changes to Hueco Mundo?”

Urahara hummed, considering. “No more than usual, I suppose. Why?”

Ichigo's eyes met his, and Chad felt the unease of the last few months melt away with a new sense of purpose. He nodded at his friend.

They were going to build a city.

**Author's Note:**

> There are quite a few stories out there where Ichigo rises up to rule Hueco Mundo because he’s killed as a child and evolves, or becomes an Espada as a teenager, or something along those lines, implying that Ichigo is pulling Hueco Mundo forward and helping them evolve with him.
> 
> At first I wanted to write a fic where, after their deaths, the Soul King starts deliberately sending people to Hueco Mundo, to preserve the balance that way. But then I thought: what if, long ago, the residents of Hueco Mundo were just as evolved as those of Soul Society? What if Starrk was not the first of his kind, but the end of an era? (On that note: I don’t know what caused Hueco Mundo’s downfall, just that the Shinigami were not involved.)
> 
> Anyway, this was a tough one, but I hope somebody likes it.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
